18-12-2007

Sightseeing Salvador

4/07/2007

Robbery at Cira do acarajé

Eight gun men yesterday morning stormed and robbed the store which is also a home of  one of the most popular acarajé spot in Salvador called Cira do acarajé  in the neighborhood of Itapuã. The armed robbers who held the entire Cira household hostage for  20 minutes carted away with valuable jeweleries and R$ 30 thousand in cash.They are still at large and yet to be apprehended even if Cira has launched a complain at the police station in the district.

27/05/2007

Teachers continued with Strike  
  
The strike of public school teachers in the state of Bahia which began 16 days ago is still on. They have decided to down tools until say Monday when their demand will possibly be met. The teachers want an increment of 17% in their wages . The legislative body in charge of  readjustment of the public workers take home had a meeting in the early hours of Friday morning and arrived at no reasonable conclusions to the advantage of the teachers. Instead of the 17% that they clamored for, an increase of  4,5% will be given to those that receive below the minimum wage and the actual 17% will be accorded to teachers whose salary is less than the minimum wage.

26/05/2007

Rain turned Salvador around 
 
A rainy morning caused a lot of pandemonium in Salvador. A house was completely destroyed by the wind in the  Pau da  Lima district. Three walls fell in Tancredo Neves. São Gonçalo do Retiro and Vale das Pedrinhas were also greatly affected by the heavy down pour, though nobody was reported injured. 
 
Fishermen from Costa Azul's neighborhood preferred not to risk fishing in the agitated sea. They only hoped that the rain which has been consistent for the past two days should come to an ultimate stop. 
 
However, traffic in the entire city became terribly bad because most of the road were completely flooded with water.  Most drivers drove with their head lights lit on as a measure of safety in rainy days. It's winter in Salvador and whenever it rains, all forms of activities in the city practically come to a halt.

22/05/2007

Salvador Shopping the Biggest Mall in Latin America Opens Today

Salvador Shopping the biggest shopping mall in Latin America will be inaugurated today in the Tancredo Neves avenue in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The new mall cum leisure center opens a great deal of opportunities for job seekers, in a state where unemployment reigns supreme. The enterprise occupies an area of 153 thousand square meter, it has 4,2 thousand parking spaces, 263 stores, besides the leisure area. 

The presentation of the opening will be anchored today by entrepreneur João Carlos Paes Mendonça, who invested more than R$ 300 million in the project. "Salvador had lack of equipment of this magnitude. We acquired this land eleven years ago and  reached the conclusion that it should  be used in building the Salvador shopping mall." he said.
 
Because of today's inauguration, the traffic in the area is completely jam packed. Most of the shops have put their products on sale at ridiculously affordable prices to attract customers. This new mall will rob majority of the malls in the city of their customers, especially the Shopping Iguatemi which is just a stone throw away. 
 
The shopping center is expected to generate six thousand jobs. For a lot of unemployed families in Salvador, this will be a great opportunity to land them their first real job.

21/02/2007  

Normalcy begins to return to the city 

Finally, the Carnival winds to an end and the capital begins to return to its normal rhythm, with the reopening of shopping malls, banks, parks and government establishments. However, the stores that opened its doors still experience little patronage. 

In the Campo Grande area which is one of the hot spot of the Carnival, cars could be seen circulating, traffic mounting and pedestrians on hurried steps could also be noticed. The city life has returned to normal after six days of party spree. Most of the Baianos who were unhappy to return to work vowed that 2008 will be more explosive than this year's carnival. 

Many companies are yet to reopen because according to some staff, the workers are still suffering from the hang over of the carnival.  The welfare department opened at 14:00 o'clock. The banks opened at noon, but they were not full, you could imagine what this means. Pockets and bank accounts have been completely emptied for the celebration. Check out my closing remarks on my article on 2006 Salvador carnival.

22/02/2007

Police publishes official Security report of the Carnival 

This year the Salvador Carnival recorded a number of homicides less than that of 2006. Around 19:00 on Thursday (15) to Ash Wednesday (21), the Military police registered the occurrence of two murders,

The accomplices who carried out the two homicides which took place in the circuits of the Carnival were captured soon after the crimes and they are presently facing trials. The criminals by names Irlan Michel Correia de Santos, and César Oliveira de Souza, that murdered Sergeant Sidnei Pimentel de Santos on Monday (19), on the street of the Carlos Gomes, were also sued. 

Ednaldo da Paixão Machado, who murdered, Jomário Barbosa de Cruz with two shots in the head and also shot Deise Ramos de Santos in the neck on Tuesday at dawn (20), on the Oceanic Avenue, was arrested by the police officer Maria de Socorro Costa, who was the person on duty at the14th police station (Barra).   

A drug trafficker was also arrested in the circuit of the Ara Ketu with a fully loaded 38 pistol about to kill 3 people whom he claimed killed his brother in a drug shoot out two months ago.

Physical aggressions 

The physical aggressions added to 1.714 cases this year, against 1.715 last year. That number takes into account the registrations in the hospitals and health centers, of which 444 had registered complaint in the police stations. The cases of arms, use and drug trafficking amounted to 94 this year against 40 in 2006. 

The robbery occurrences and theft totaled 1.403 in this year’s Carnival, against 1.253 in 2006. Of the total of robberies and thefts, 74 cases refer to assaults on buses. In 2006, this type of occurrence arrived at 75, which is more than that of this year’s Carnival.

21/02/2007

Ivete Sangalo and Carlinhos Brown took charge of the end of Carnival 

Thousands of Baianos and tourists said goodbye to the Carnival with the entrance of Ash Wednesday, that only finished in the beginning of the afternoon today (21). Even with the heavy down pour, Carlinhos Brown and Ivete Sangalo accomplished the tradition of pulling the crowd without the traditional carnival strings. For a lot of people that worked during the carnival it was an opportunity to eventually have fun. Not even the rain could hinder the closing party of the 2007 Salvador carnival. 

Carlinhos Brown pulled the crowd by giving them popcorn bath, a ritual and symbol of purification according to the candomblé religion. He also distributed flowers as a symbol of peace to mark the tranquil end of the festivity. 

They are normally the independent trios without the traditional ropes on Ash Wednesday. This style was created by Carlinhos brown 12 years ago. Ivete Sangalo dragged thousands of spectators to the top of the trio, among them were many famous actors. Reynaldo Gianecchini who falls among these lucky few said goodbye to the 2007 carnival with the same happiness that triggered the seven days party.

9th Feb, 2007,

Sesp - The Municipal Secretariat of Public Services - on Tuesday (9) will begin, the stationing of tents for the popular Bonfim party. The accreditation of the (barraqueiros) tent builders has already been issued at the secretariat. More than 500 accreditations are expected. 
 
The City hall already has a list with the names of the people interested  in participating in the event.  
 
In line with the programming, the barraqueiros will begin work from 8:00am to 11am everyday,  this includes the stationing of all the equipments that will be needed for the successful outcome of the festival. The Bonfim celebration is the second biggest event that comes after the Salvadorean carnival.

Long Lines  in Salvador  Airport                                           

22/12/2006

 
The problems of the last two months in the Deputado  Luís Eduardo Magalhães airport in Salvador has repeated itself. uncontrollable Lines, fatigue and frustrated passengers in search of flights information are seen scattered all over the place . . According to the National Agency of Civil Aviation, in Salvador, out of the 63 flights foreseen for today, 61 have been delayed and 2 canceled.

15 late flights and 2 canceled in Salvador 

Mark Stevenson Fuo                                                                              

22/12/2006

The National Agency of Civil Aviation (Anac) published a new partial bulletin today that  showed that 38% of the flights in the Country have been more than one hour  late. 
 
Of 657 landings and takeoffs programmed, 252 were affected by severe lateness and 21 have been canceled. The Airport of Congonhas, in São Paulo, led the list of 30 flights with problems, followed by 27 flights from the International Airport of São Paulo, in Guarulhos. Passengers have been spotted in most international airports all over Brazil sleeping on bare floors and complaining bitterly about the ungly incident.

Some who could not be patient have gone to take buses to their respective destinations. International flights have been affected too.
      

By Mark Stevenson Fuo

The 10th Barra Fashion show which took place at the Complex B of the Barra Shopping complex in Salvador Bahia came to a successful close yesterday night. Its opening kicked off last Wednesday 2, at 18:30 hours. The show paraded new talents in the fashion and modeling industries in Bahia. Renata Mello,Telúrica and Goreth Duningham are Fashion out fits that paraded new talents on the first day of the show. Salinas also paraded on the first night, while Paradoxus brought the first show to a close at 21:30 hours.

click to enlarge

   

On Thursday, the third day into the Barra Fashion week, the stylists Soudam & Kaveski were first to exhibit their collections, followed by Cambodja, Evidence and Sandpiper. Luciana Galeão and the 200 Voltz Outfit paraded their collections on Friday, 4. Osklen, Blue Man and TNG came afterwards. To round the show up yesterday Saturday 5, Vivire, Triton, Márcia Ganem (the best Fashion outfit in Salvador) and Carlos Rodeiro, graced the event with their spectacular designs.

To spice the occasion, private parties were held around the venue of the event. The Fashion week was mostly parked with youths from ages 17-25.Techno beats filled the air as the youths danced the event to a close.

                                   Tuesday July 24,2006. 1.24
Assaulting of commercial buses on the streets of  Salvador 
by Mark Stevenson Fuo

A bus that was coming from Luis Eduardo Magalhães city, in the West of the state of Salvador, was assaulted today at dawn . A man who put up an act as a passenger embarked on the bus at the municipal district of Cristópolis, armed with a revolver and a knife. Few minutes into the journey, he announced his presence as an armed robber and carted away valuables amounting to thousand of reais from the passengers and fled. Nobody was considered injured in the incident.

Incident such as this, has been rampant in the city lately. Especially on weekends when the city knows more peace. Commercial buses have been assaulted a number of times by armed youths from ages 16-35. If you are caught in any of these ugly situations, God forbid, never you try to be a hero, simply surrender all that is required of you by the bandit. Remember life has no duplicate, but material things could be gotten between the twinkle of an eye.


The 2004 Nobel Piece Prize Winner in Salvador
by Mark Stevenson Fuo     

 “Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). She pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region. Wangari Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman in 1981-87. It was while she served in the National Council of Women that she introduced the idea of planting trees with the people in 1976 and continued to develop it into a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life. However, through the Green Belt Movement she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms and on schools and church compounds”. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004".

In the just concluded 2^ND African Intellectuals and the Diaspora Conference held in Salvador – Bahia, Brazil. She made the encouraging and motivational speech when interviewed by journalists from the State.

HER SPEECH IN AN INTERVIEW ORGANIZED BY JOURLISTS FROM BAHIA

Well I'm quite sure that the Norwegian Nobel Prize committee made a decision to give the prize first and foremost to the Environment and then to an African woman for a very specific purpose, and that was first of all, to recognize the importance of the environment, and the Central role the environment plays in our development and in our capacity to stay in peace with each other, but it also wanted to encourage Africa and I’m sure the diaspora wherever we are because Africa is not a poor continent, Africa is a very rich continent and the fact that the African people wherever they are poor is partly because, we have a system of governance that often do not respect human rights, often do not respect the rule of law and certainly do not promote equitable distribution of resources; and this is true within Africa and that is also true within the Diaspora and therefore for me receiving the Nobel Piece Prize was not only a great honor and encouragement for the work that I have been carrying out for the last 30 years and which focused on 3 issues. The issue of environment and sustainable management of resources, the issue of governance and respect for human rights and also the issue of peace, and not only was this a prize to honor these 3 things and the way we are linked to them, but it was also a deliberate effort to honor the Africans and to encourage them to move towards respect for these 3 things so as to develop and improve the quality of life for all Africans wherever they are.

I want to say I’m extremely happy to be here in Brazil. This is the first time I have come to South America since I got the prize and particularly happy to be at this conference of intellectuals of Africa and the diaspora and I know that the encouragement of me as an African woman coming from Kenya and working for the Environment and governance issues and peace issues for the last 30 years, that the Norwegian Nobel committee wanted to encourage all of us and I especially wanted to address myself to the young black persons. You young people, I want to encourage you, to believe in yourselves and to understand that, I do not have much to go for, except for the that I recognize an issue and I pursued it with my passion for the last 30 years not so that I will receive a Nobel Piece Prize, because this was the first time the environment was recognized, but I pursued it because I recognized it, that as a very important issue for the improvement of the quality of life of our people for development and for our ability to live in peace in Africa.

I want to ask you to believe in something, believe in yourself, believe in the idea in a goal, that you can work for, go to school and stay in school, because at this age, at this era, in the 21^st century, education is the key to progress, you must not only receive education, but also skills so that you can be competitive in the world in which we now live and I also want to encourage you to stay healthy, stay away from activities that will ruin your health, because you cannot compete if you are unhealthy, that’s perhaps the only message that I think is relevant for you young people at the moment. If you go to school, if you stay in school, if you acquire your education, if you get skills and if you remain healthy you will be competitive and you can really say that, the sky is the limit, believe in yourself, it’s so important for us, especially because we live in a world that is discriminating, that practices racism, so when we do things that reduce our capacity to compete, we are being very unfair to ourselves, very unwise, so let us be wise and realize that we live in a very competitive world and there are very many issues against us. So we need to use everything that God has given us. I wish you the very best.

One of the reasons that I’m very happy that president Da Silva invited me to this conference and I’m very happy that I was able to come is the fact that , the environment was not actually on the agenda. We did not have any workshop on the environment and it is because many people do not quite appreciate the roles that the environment plays in our lives, yet we all eat, and food comes from the soil and it must receive rainfall. So, we need the land, we need the water, we need clean air, we need to have the right to clean and healthy environment. Now as a black people living in Africa in a Continent that is threatened by desertification, it is extremely important for us to realize , for us to continue surviving, for us to continue the struggle, we must have an environment that can sustain our livelihood. So we need to learn to protect the environment in which we live, and we need to understand that the environment whether it is the air we breath, the clean water we must drink, the clean and healthy food we must eat, whatever it is even the clean and healthier air that we breath because we are using better sources of energy. All of these are better for our survival. So in this conference we were talking about remembering our history, remembering where we came from, sharing that experience across the Atlantic, but also realizing that we still have a lot work to do, but we need to form a pact to work together, to know about each other, to educate ourselves about each other and to move forward together, that to me was the importance of this conference. I happen to know that many people across the Atlantic, do not know enough about the diaspora and many people in the diaspora do not know enough about Africa. And what we sometime know comes from people who are very willing to misinform us, so quite often we have misconceptions about each other. So it has been very important for us to raise our awareness on the need to know each other, to learn from each other, to educate ourselves about each other and to learn to form a partnership so that we can move forward together.

                                                      

                                                                      Monday, July 17 2006. 4:34


The release of Ivete Sangolo's New CD                       

One of Bahia's renowned Axe music exponent Ivete Sangalo will be releasing her latest CD titled 'As Super Novas'(The Super New) in the Parque de Exposições( Exhibition's Park) in Salvador Bahia on August 5, 2006 starting from 8pm.

Born in Juazeiro (Bahia), Ivete Sangalo has been a phenomenon of the media and that of  Bahian music in the last years. She started singing at age 3. In her teen days, she sang and played guitar in festivals and several presentations promoted by the school where she studied. Her first professional presentation took place in a small bar in the Ondina neighborhood in Salvador; she was taken there by her sister Mônica, who had already sang there.

As she grew musically, she went to sing in cities like Juazeiro and Senhor do Bonfim in Bahia, and Petrolina in Pernambuco respectively. At Juazeiro, she was accorded the privilege to perform as the opening arte in  Geraldo Azevedo's show, which took place at the "Teatro do Centro de Cultura João Gilberto", Afterwards, she blew everybody away with her spectacular performance and was invited to participate in a show for the preparation of the Carnival at the time in Morro do Chapéu situated in the interior of Bahia. That was when Producer Jonga Cunha noticed her musical potentials and decided to organize a funk musical show with Ivete as the main attraction.  During the rehearsals for the show, the vocalist traveled as a backing vocal around the interior of Bahia in the company of the singer Lui Muritiba.

Her first outstanding musical outing that shot her to the limelight was at the Sirigüela club, in the neighborhood of Ondina, in Salvador, in August 1992. It was at that show that she won the Caymmi Award which was the Bahian music equivalent of the Grammy Award. In front of a great audience, Ivete and her Band performed in the Projeto Meio-Dia (Noon Project), at the Mercado Modelo in 1993.

Before she parted from her group EVA and went solo, she participated in their last production "Carro Velho" (Old Car) under Polygram records label. The hit sold over four million copies in 1999. She has sang along side great artists like Gilbeto Gil, Daniela Mercury, the Ile- Aye Band, Araketu to mention but a few.

Ivete Sangalo is a great singer, with a powerful voice who has strongly and proudly represented the people of Bahia in other parts of Brazil and internationally with her music.
                                                                                



                                                                                              Wed July, 2006. 2:29  


House of Benin reopens Today
by Mark Stevenson Fuo 

The Cultural Center of Benin situated in the historical center of Salvador called Pelourinho,after passing through a great reformation process opens its doors again at 18.00 hours today. The Exhibition halls and the restaurant have been renovated and adapted for easy technological access; inaddition, a small auditorium and a library have been built.

The Cultural Center's mission has always been to establish exchange relationships poilitically, culturally, econimically, religiously and socially between Salvador and its citizens back home. How I wish the Nigerian House that is supposed to have a very strong tie with Salvador and most Brazilian cities will take a queue from this remarkable gesture.

To mark the event, the Gregório de Mattos (FGM) Foundation  has organized an ethnographic exhibition for these up and about people tiltled (Baianos that migrated to Benin in the19th century, instilling the elements of the local culture).

                                                                                 

                                                                                     
                                                                                         Wed July 12, 2006. 8.05

Renowned Authorities participate in the II CIAD Program

by Mark Stevenson Fuo

The Second Conference for Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora an event that includes debates and artistic manifestations opened today. The opening ceremony was slated for 9:30 am in the Convention Center of Salvador da Bahia.

A round table Conference began by 10:30 am on “The Diaspora and African Renaissance: past contributions and the present project”. Those that participated in the debate are President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the presidents of Botswana, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Senegal, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Vice-President of Tanzania, singer Stevie Wonder and the 2004 Nobel Laureate for Peace Environmentalist Wangari Maathai from Kenya. Dr Nelson Mandela, Arch- Bishop Desmond Tutu and Fidel Castro of Cuba were confirmed absent.

As at 3:15pm this afternoon, the theme discussed was 'Gender and Equity in Africa and the Diaspora' featuring sociologists, economists and representatives from the Institutions for the Defense of Human Rights. Tomorrow, the round table will begin at 10:00 am in the morning. And the topics to be debated upon are ' The Need for a Political Pact for Peace Between Africa and Diaspora, Democracy and Development'. At 8:00 pm in the evening, A movie on Africa and the Diaspora entitled "Cinema As a Vehicle for the Construction of Identity in Africa and the Diaspora." will be shown to the audience.

The event will come to an end on Friday with the accomplishment of the presentations of the thematic groups and panels. The public will be able to view the discussions at the Convention Center in Salvador through screens installed in different points. The Center for Afro-oriental Studies (Ceafro), that is situated at Largo Dois de Julho and the auditorium of the State University of Bahia, situated in Cabula are also places where the debates will take place.  For the benefit of those who were not admitted into the program, the debates will be transmitted live via the internet at

 www.ciad.mre.gov.br

                                                                          
  


                                                                                  Monday 3 July,2006 .12:05

II CIAD “The Second Conference of Intellectuals from African” in Salvador - Bahia

by Mark Stevenson Fuo

The first Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora - I CIAD was held in Dakar, Senegal, from 6 to 9 October, 2004.

The Conference decided that the follow-up should be held in the Diaspora. The African Union chose Brazil to be the host for the summit.

The Convention Center in Salvador, the capital of the State of Bahia, has been penciled down from July12 -14, 2006 as the venue for this year's Conference. The event will be co-chaired and presided by the Brazilian Minister for Culture, Gilberto Gil representing the Diaspora, and an intellectual woman from Africa will represent the African Continent.

Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the incubent president of Brazil in the company of other Heads of States will register their honorable presence in the opening of the ceremony, on July 12. Also expected are Dr Nelson Mandela, Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu , the singer Stevie Wonder and Fidel Castro the Cuban President.

This year's II CIAD debates will attract about 700 to1000 intellectuals participants and political leaders from Africa and other Countries of the Diaspora.

Apart from the Salvador Conference center other venues to complement activities in this year’s Conference will be the State and Federal Universities of Bahia respectively.

Objectives

The objective of the Conference is to encourage and give prominence to the African intellectuals' contribution as vectors of new ideas for the development and social transformation of the continent and the Diaspora.

The Conference equally seeks to increase the mutual understanding, as well as stimulate the cooperation for development between the African countries and those of the Diaspora.

The Conference also promotes the intellectuals' permanent, durable and constructive commitment and those that have political will power to take decisions on problems confronting Africans the world over, as well as assure that they will be engaged in the establishments of development programs.

Team of the Conference

The general theme of the II CIAD is “The Diaspora and African Renaissance: past contributions and the present project” This theme will be discussed in plenary session and thematic groups.

For registration or more information visit www.ciad.mre.gov.br



Monday 3 July,2006 .12:05

What is July 2 to the people of Salvador?
by Mark Stevenson Fuo

The July 2 celebration is to commemorate the victory that the Brazilian Army and Navy troops had over the Portuguese army where they fought seizelessly and eventually snatched away power from Portugal in 1823. On this said day, the Brazilian troops entered into the city of Salvador, that was occupied by the Portuguese army at the time, took it over and consolidating their victory.

July 2nd is one of the most important date in the history of Brazil and an unforgettable one for mostly the people of Bahia. Irrespective of the declaration of independence in 1822, Brazil still needed to be liberated from the Portuguese troops that persisted in living in some of their provinces. The people of Bahia anually use this date  to recall the entrance of their troops into the city by paying series of homages to the fighters that set them free from the ugly shackles of the Portuguese rule.

Among all of the commemorations, the one of 1849 featured a very special guest. In the person of Marshal Pedro Labatut. Who led the Brazilian troops in the first fight for the recovery of the province of Bahia from the Portuguese Army. On this glorious day, though frail, old and poor as he was, he participated in the 2 July parade with great joy and fulfilment of honoring the troops of which he was once a part of.

To accomplish the dream of retrieving Bahia, lots of fighting broke out………..

Brazil was still dominated by Portugal in the beginning of the 18th century, but Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Bahia continued to struggle for their independence. These provinces could not take the grostesque situation anymore and having discovered the privileges and advantages that Rio de Janeiro was receiving for being the capital at that time, Pernambuco and Bahia decided to rebel.

Recife led off an anti-colonial revolution on March 6, 1817. This revolution had a connection with Bahia, because it involved group plotters composed of the military, proprietors of mills, liberal workers and merchants. To kick against this movement, the then governor of Bahia, D. Marcos de Noronha and Brito admonished some of them personally.

The government led by the Portuguese came all out with arms to resist the plotters, some of them were arrested but majority where killed. Due to the violent series of murders, lots of Baianos decided to throw in the towel. With this whole repression, the revolution of Recife ended up being defeated. The prisoners from Pernambuco were brought to Bahia, and later taken to the Aljube prison, where renowned personalities from Bahia were also arrested and imprisoned.

Movement for Independence

Due to this dissatisfaction, the wars for  independence began. The military officials and civilians from Bahia started to restrict the Temporary Committee of the Government from Bahia, that dictated the orders at that time, and with this attitude, they formed a conspiracy group that accomplished the manifestation of November 3, 1821.

This manifestation demanded the end of the Temporary Committee, but it was impeded by the "Portuguese Constitutional Legion", ordered by Colonel Paulo Francisco and Oliveira. The days passed and the conflicts intensely continued. Many Brazilian died in combat.

Portuguese Forces

On January 31, 1822 the Temporary Committee was modified. And some days later, an ordinance that named the Portuguese Brigadier, Ignácio Luiz Madeira de Mello, the new Minister of Defence came from Portugal

The Brazilians did not accept this imposition, because they argued that the afore- mentioned ordinance would first have had to pass through the City hall.This provoked lots of military and civil outburst.

The defence Minister Madeira de Mello did not waste time in putting together the Portuguese troops in readiness for action, by declaring that they had to take charge of the situation on ground. On February 19, the Portuguese set off their invasion. They invaded the barracks, the São Pedro forte, including the convent at the Lapa district where the Nun Mother Joana Angelica was killed when she tried to stop them from entering the convent to attack the Brazilian soldiers that were there.

With this new development, the Portuguese completed their military occupation of Salvador. Madeira de Mello strengthened the connections between Bahia and Portugal. The city received new Portuguese troops and a lot of families from Bahia fled the cities to the bay areas.

This Year’s Commemoration

2 July whose procession was considered very official by the State, was commemorated in grand style this year. The commemorations extrapolated the limits of the procession in Salvador and that of celebrations in the bay area of Bahia. The exhibition "Art on the streets", from the works of artist Chico Liberato, was launched in honor of the crucial day. His integral works of art was displayed in banner shapes along the circuit of the parade. Among other locations, the pieces was seen on buildings facades, 30 street lights on the Campo Grande area and 17 billboards.

The Gregório de Mattos (FGM) foundation launched the catalogs that contained, besides the official programming, a complete cultural program for 2 July , which commenced on Wednesday, 27, and ended on the 14. It marked 183 years of the Independence of Brazil in Bahia, the slogan of the celebration was  "2 July" A culture of class and civism.

More than 880 students from 13 schools of the municipal district of Salvador all dressed in colorful military uniforms participated in this year's of the July 2 civic parade. Among some of the groups that participated in the parade, the students carried allegories that represented cities, like Santo Amaro, Cachoeira and Maragogipe, that struggled for the independence of the State of Bahia.  The Brazilian national team was ejected from the FIFA World Cup the previous day and people taught that the independence day would reflect the melancholic feelings of the people. But the Baianos doing what they know how to do best, danced their sorrow away and enjoyed the day to the fullest.

                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                    01/07/2006

Son killed his father in cold blood                                     

A family crime was committed yesterday in the neigborhood of San Martin in Salvador where Lenildo de Jesus Farias age 19, shot his 46 years old father and fled afterwards. The reason behind the crime which is presently unknown is been investigated by the police. Lenildo who is at large is presently sought after by the cops.



                                                                                      Friday June 23,2006
SÃO JOÃO

BY MARK STEVENSON FUO

The Sao Joao festival is one celebrated in honor of the biblical Saint John who prepared the way for the coming of the Savior of the world Jesus Christ. The festival which most people including my humble self prefer to that of the Carnival is a peaceful, well coordinated and organize one that mostly take place in the entire northeastern states of Brazil.

During this period, which is normally in June of every year, all roads lead to the country side of town where everybody gets down on the forro beat, a Brazilian version of country music which is the music played all through to lighten up the festival. People dance around fire places which has a traditional under tone attached to the festival. Spirit with all kinds of flavor is served accompanied by the typical dish of boiled corn and peanuts which are eaten by all and sundry.

In Salvador, this year’s Saint John festivity also took place in Pelourinho. The entire historical center was decorated with banderoles, colorful ribbons and ballons. Shows with Forro artistes were staged at the main square , restaurants and bars all around Pelourinho. The entire atmosphere was packed with mostly couples, dancing and walking in pairs.

For further reading of the Sao Joao festival go to the Festival page.

                                              

                                                              Friday, June 02, 2006

Road Transport Workers Strike Paralyzes Commercial activities in Salvador – Bahia, Brazil
by Mark Stevenson Fuo

Normalcy has returned to the commercial city of Sao Paulo after the ugly and avoidable incident that was sparked up on Friday, May 12^th 2006, by the PCC members.(Primeiro Comando da Capital, (First Command of the Capital ) which is a notorious and well organized crime gang. This time around, like the Paulistas, Baianos have been trapped in their homes.

More than one million Baianos that live in Salvador woke up without public transportation four days ago. After two months of negotiations, the public bus transport workers comprising of the drivers and cash collectors went on an indefinite strike Monday night. The workers are demanding a readjustment of 10% of their take home, while the entrepreneurs are offering an incredible increase of 4%.

The approval of the strike was decided in a voting realized during a gathering at the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Eletricitários da Bahia (Sinergia), four days ago. A protest march from Aquidabã to Iguatemi (major highway) was used to announce the commencement of the strike to the public.

We were "open to discussion and negotiations until minutes before the strike", Affirmed the president of the Union of the transport workers, Mr. J. Carlos. He alerted that the strike would paralyze activities in the entire Salvador metropolis. We have the total support of the workers to have embarked on this strike,” J. Carlos said.

During the whole walk and protest, the road transport workers accused the intransigence entrepreneurs, affirming that the intention of the patronage has always been exploiting and depriving the workers of their rights. J. Carlos emphasized that 15 negotiation rounds have been setup without arriving at a reasonable conclusion. We "did everything possible. We had 15 negotiation rounds and the entrepreneurs only presented proposals that took our rights away, like the reduction in payment of workers overtime and robbing us of our relaxation on Sundays", he said.

He went further to declare that the road transport workers would not make stoppages at any bus station until their demands are met. Moreover, since the strike began, out of the 3.600 buses in the State, and the 2.400, that existed in the capital, none of them had stopped in the bus stations as the president promised. The state of Bahia has 18 thousand transport workers that had been clamoring for this readjustment for over 2 years.

The Regional Tribunal for Work in Bahia granted a preliminary warning yesterday to the entrepreneurs, that they should affirm that 70% of the buses in the city would be schedule to work on peak periods during the strike. Failure to comply with this treat, the road transport workers association would be liable to pay a fine of R$ 50 thousand. Irrespective of this treat which they regarded as empty, the order of the authorities was blatantly and vehemently ignored by the road transport worker. Manoel Machado the vice president of the Road Workers Union denied that they are yet to receive the treat letter that states that they should resume duty.

If two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The strike that is approaching the fifth day has completely brought most commercial activities to a stand still. One could only see cars and taxis moving around the streets and avenues of the city. With a minimum salary of $300 equivalent to $135 dollars or thereabout, how many people will be able to afford the exorbitant taxi fares? Most bus stops including the largest bus station in Salvador are completely vacuous. In the main street of the commercial center of the city called Avenida Sete, many stores are closed. The historical center that is always packed with tourists and locals is also a ghost town. Those traveling into the city from neighboring and far away towns have decided to postpone their journeys until they have made assurance double sure that the strike has been called off.

Mobility has been perplexing for majority of the inhabitants of Salvador who depend on buses as their only means of transportation; because the city do not have a working subway system.It only possesses a small train that conveys the residents of the suburb to the downtown districts. The primary, high school and university students have all gone on a compulsory break. The streets in most of the neighborhoods have been taken over by football playing youths. The beaches around town have accommodated a great deal of people these past four days. Angry youths have stormed the streets throwing stones and destroying public buses as a sign of protest against depriving them of movement around the city.

Whichever, way one views this strike; it is the masses that bear the brunt. As at the early hours of today, the State government has decided to meet with the striking workers, to resolve the issue on ground. We hope that something tangible will emanate from this meeting so that commercial activities in the temporarily dead city of Salvador will be ressurrected.



São Paulo, Brazil on Fire                         Sunday May 21, 2006. 14.05

by mark stevenson fuo

September 11th is a date that will linger on the minds of the citizens of the United States and the world at large for a considerably long period of time.  It was a day when the grotesque and barbaric action of terrorism was unleashed on the World's Trade Centre in New York City.  Last week, terrorism which took the form of a riot released its poisonous venom on yet another financial and industrial city. This time not carried out by terrorists, but the PCC members.(Primeiro Comando da Capital, (First Command of the Capital ) which is a notorious and well organized crime gang in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sao Paulo, with a population of 17 million and a land mass which spreads over 3,00 square miles is the world’s third largest city and the largest metropolis in South America. This most modern cosmopolitan city in Brazil, has often been compared to New York because of its attraction, which lies in ethic minority communities, upthrusting skyscrapers, state of the art malls, world class boutiques  and the continental cuisines that the city offers. Apart from the outstanding qualities that this city portrays, it is also considered a home to organized crime groups.

The last few days could be likened to hell on earth for Paulistas (inhabitants of São Paulo), who have been practically imprisoned in their places of abode due to fear and shock of been attacked and killed by the PCC mafias.  The abrupt and tragic events over the weekend , which had involved sporadic shootings and killings, have demonstrated the influence and firm grip that organized crime has on the city.

The avoidable drama, which has really turned ugly, sparked up when around 700 members of the PCC crime gang were moved from a low to a maximum-security prison to minimize the influence and domination they have possessed over the years on other inmates.  The PCC was formed years ago as a gang within the prison walls to protect the rights of prisoners.  Today, they have spread immensely outside the prison system and formed organized crime gangs which unfortunately deal in drugs, kidnapping and armed robbery throughout the crucial and economically vibrant Brazilian cities.

The movement of  some members of the crime gang that took place on Friday May 12, 2006 was what primarily triggered off the pandemonium and killings in Sao Paulo. The gand members in several parts of the city teemed up, attacked and killed over 30 people, including on and off-duty civil and military police, prison guards, firefighters, their families, and other criminals.  Having done this, they have now unleashed their wrath on innocent civilians by attacking several banks in the cities, kidnapping and taking bus passengers as hostages.  Recently we gather from reliable sources that their next target will be schools and the metro.

In addition, the PCC inmates in different prisons in Sao Paulo have taken quite a number of prisoners as hostages.  In the Venceslau prison located (600km west of São Paulo city), some inmates were beheaded and their decapitated heads were exhibited on poles outside the prison areas.  As at yesterday, the death toll has risen to over 130. Before